If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
"lal truckee" wrote in message ... Commercial ski socks are a crock: ski socks should be wicking (polyprop or similar, relatively thin, high rising (so there's no edge or wrinkles inside the boot cuff) and snug. Commercial ski socks are too thick and often have wool in them. Wrong. Don't expect to pad out a sloppy boot with thick or multiple socks - it won't work; insist on a good fitting boot. Are you confusing "outdoor" socks with ski socks? The "commercial ski socks" I've always gotten have been *very* thin. I don't mean to contradict the general information, it's good, just to say that if he gets the right c.s.s. they are thin and wicking. To add; the thinner and tighter the sock and the more care taken when putting your foot in the boot and smoothing of the sock before buckling, the better. IT'S HUGE! Especially if you get some stamina and are out there all day. Have someone show you how to take the liner out of the boot shell overnight too. It will dry overnight in your room. pigo |
Ads |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
pigo wrote:
"lal truckee" wrote in message ... Commercial ski socks are a crock: ski socks should be wicking (polyprop or similar, relatively thin, high rising (so there's no edge or wrinkles inside the boot cuff) and snug. Commercial ski socks are too thick and often have wool in them. Wrong. Don't expect to pad out a sloppy boot with thick or multiple socks - it won't work; insist on a good fitting boot. Are you confusing "outdoor" socks with ski socks? Nope. I consider ALL the socks I've looked at that were labeled "Ski Socks" to be too thick (and I do look at them occasionally.) I use polypro "liner" socks. I can't get into my boot wearing a thicker sock - the fit is too tweeked. I only use the liner sock at all to allow my foot to slip into the boot; otherwise, barefoot would be the way to go. IMO you don't want any cloth in the boot with you - cloth compresses, and makes for a sloppy fit. Padded socks make the already sloppy boot fit (otherwise you couldn't get the sock in there at all) even sloppier. Not good. Avoid. And, as someone pointed out - padded socks make the foot colder[1], contrairy to the expectations of beginners, so it's important to mention socks when advising inexperienced skiers. IMO ski socks are a whole industry based on a false premises. Sort of like rear entry boots were. [1] because the sock will shift and compress the blood vessels, particularly on top of the foot, reducing circulation and causing pain, strain, and coldness. Once that thick sock is inside a boot, there's no way to constrain where it goes, so compressions are inevitable. |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
On Mon, 3 Nov 2003 11:37:45 CST, lal_truckee
wrote: barefoot would be the way to go. Yea, until the liner starts to pack-out. My boots (Texnica's) are about 5 years old. Started wearing really thin socks at first, nice and snug fit. Now I have to wear a slightly thicker sock to make up for the difference. I'm not talking about really thick socks, just *slightly* thicker than what I originally started wearing when the boots were new. I don't know, maybe my feet are shrinking. -Astro --- AstroPax Gravity Tracks http://www.xmission.com/~hound/astro/index.htm --- |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
[Many snips throughout]
On Mon, 03 Nov 2003 at 10:10 GMT, lal truckee penned: Monique Y. Herman wrote: On Sat, 01 Nov 2003 at 00:01 GMT, Christopher Mooney penned: 2. When you took your first ski trip, what did you wish you had done/taken with you that you didn't? Boot/glove dryer! You'll be amazed at how long it can take for wet gloves to dry without proper ventilation. This is one of the many reasons that I love my gloves, which have zip-out liners. This is an easy one; I bet your wife won't leave home without a hair dryer - just make sure it has a low temp or cool setting and you can use it to dry gloves/boots. Your hotel room may have a dryer also, or you may want to pack two. Or you can look in the magazines and waste $100 on a special "boot/glove dryer." Well, I'm female, and I don't use a hair dryer -- frequent use can damage your hair. Split ends are a pain. The key part to the above is the "cool" setting. Heat is bad when drying your stuff -- at worst, you could actually melt plastic stuff, but you could also bend your gear out of shape (unintentional heat-molding). I know it's tempting, but don't lay your stuff out on a heater -- I've seen a plastic piece on a glove completely melted down this way. The smell was awful, too. Anyway, back to boot dryers. Mine rules because it has long, flexible pipes that allow me to actually get air flow into the toes of my boots (find that on a hair dryer!). It was $50 at a resort, so I'm sure you could find it much cheaper elsewhere. It has been a godsend for wet boots and gloves (from sweat, even if you don't get snow into them). I'll admit it's a bit noisy, though. If someone in your group does have a hair dryer with a "cool" setting and doesn't mind letting it contact stinky boots, that's an acceptably effective and much more economical solution. Extra ski socks. Commercial ski socks are a crock: ski socks should be wicking (polyprop or similar, relatively thin, high rising (so there's no edge or wrinkles inside the boot cuff) and snug. Commercial ski socks are too thick and often have wool in them. Wrong. Don't expect to pad out a sloppy boot with thick or multiple socks - it won't work; insist on a good fitting boot. I have some extremely thin ski socks with no padding. They work great. Thinner is definitely better. Regardless of the type of sock you choose, bring extras. You'll want more than you think. If you take off your boots during lunch, as I tend to do, you'll find that your socks are cold, wet, and downright icky. Having an extra pair available can be a nice pick-me-up =) "Wicking" long johns rather than the old-style honeycomb kind. Silk long johns are great; so are many of the synthetics out there. The synthetics are better than silk; just not as expensive. I have some of both, and now that I think about it, I do tend to prefer the synthetics. They also are less likely to "run" than the silks, which can be a real pain that way. And it's much less ... awkward ... to change out of your snow pants in front of someone else when you're wearing opaque synthetics rather than translucent silks. (Unless of course you're changing in front of your spouse, in which case it can be great fun.) -- monique PLEASE don't CC me. Please. Pretty please with sugar on top. Whatever it takes, just don't CC me! I'm already subscribed!! |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
On Mon, 03 Nov 2003 at 14:22 GMT, Christopher Mooney penned:
We have already decided against buying any of the actual equipment the first time out though. Good idea -- wait till you're addicted =P -- monique PLEASE don't CC me. Please. Pretty please with sugar on top. Whatever it takes, just don't CC me! I'm already subscribed!! |
#16
|
|||
|
|||
On Mon, 03 Nov 2003 at 16:29 GMT, mark penned:
2. When you took your first ski trip, what did you wish you had done/taken with you that you didn't? Ski lessons are a must. A lot of couples find that they are better off in separate classes. If your 4 year old is at all shy or timid, consider watching a ski lesson with him in the morning (or the previous day) and starting with a half day lesson. I don't know anything about kids, but I definitely agree about ski lessons. Not just for beginners! The more lessons you take, the faster you will progress. Lessons are expensive, but worth every penny. Also, depending on the resort and the instructor, lessons can give you a guided tour of the best terrain for your ability level. If you can manage it, a several-hour lesson is much better than a single hour. -- monique PLEASE don't CC me. Please. Pretty please with sugar on top. Whatever it takes, just don't CC me! I'm already subscribed!! |
#17
|
|||
|
|||
In article ,
Christopher Mooney wrote: On the money question, I am not too keen on spending too much of my disposable income on items I may not ever use again. I understand the bibs thing, but gloves, goggles, long johns, etc that can be used again with or without skiing is more palatable. You can rent much of that stuff. Most rental places will rent you a bib for anywhere from 70% to 99% of what it would cost you to buy one. Alternatively, start keeping your eye open for ski swaps in your area, sniff the thrift shops. Or ask your skiing friends if they have any extra gear they might loan you. Most of us have surplus ski clothes that, um, seem a bit snugger than when we bought 'em. I don't know what other use there is for goggles--bike commuting, maybe-- but they're probably not essential for day 1, unless the weather's really crappy, or you're skiing in the pacific northwest USA. If it's not snowing and it's sunny, sunglasses may be sufficient. -- --- Eric Holeman Chicago Illinois USA |
#18
|
|||
|
|||
In article ,
lal truckee wrote: Commercial ski socks are a crock: ski socks should be wicking (polyprop or similar, relatively thin, high rising (so there's no edge or wrinkles inside the boot cuff) and snug. Commercial ski socks are too thick and often have wool in them. Wrong. Don't expect to pad out a sloppy boot with thick or multiple socks - it won't work; insist on a good fitting boot. What's wrong with wool? I love my wool ski socks--heck, I wear 'em all year long. They don't stink like polypro does. Well, not as bad, anyways. "Wicking" long johns rather than the old-style honeycomb kind. Silk long johns are great; so are many of the synthetics out there. I tried the woolies for that last year, and they were fine, too. But silk's hard to beat. -- --- Eric Holeman Chicago Illinois USA |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
In article ,
lal_truckee wrote: IMO ski socks are a whole industry based on a false premises. Sort of like rear entry boots were. I'm not giving up my Salomon SX-81s. Not yet, anyways. You'll have to pry them off my cold, dead 11EEEE feet. I've heard rumors that overlap boots aren't the medieval torture devices that they used to be, but I've heard them from the same people who seem to like trudging up mountains in ski boots when there are perfectly fine lift-served runs nearby, which made me suspect that that they're the sort of people who enjoyed the vise-like fit of older overlap boots. -- --- Eric Holeman Chicago Illinois USA |
#20
|
|||
|
|||
"Eric Holeman" wrote You can rent much of that stuff. Most rental places will rent you a bib for anywhere from 70% to 99% of what it would cost you to buy one. Alternatively, start keeping your eye open for ski swaps in your area, sniff the thrift shops. Or ask your skiing friends if they have any extra gear they might loan you. Most of us have surplus ski clothes that, um, seem a bit snugger than when we bought 'em. I don't know what other use there is for goggles--bike commuting, maybe-- but they're probably not essential for day 1, unless the weather's really crappy, or you're skiing in the pacific northwest USA. If it's not snowing and it's sunny, sunglasses may be sufficient. -- --- Eric Holeman Chicago Illinois USA Breckenridge gets a fair percentage of it's annual snowfall in March, so plan on needing goggles. -- mark |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Trip report: Mt. Bachelor, OR | sknyski | Nordic Skiing | 0 | January 31st 05 11:10 PM |
trip report, Norsk (New London, NH) Jan 29 | Lee Derbenwick | Nordic Skiing | 4 | January 31st 05 05:21 PM |
trip to Yllas Finland | Mark Eastman | Nordic Skiing | 6 | January 24th 05 08:17 PM |
Looking for fellow hard-core skiers for a sick Europe trip | [email protected] | Alpine Skiing | 5 | January 4th 05 05:52 PM |
Repost from moderated: 5 months until my first ski trip | Christopher Mooney | Alpine Skiing | 35 | November 14th 03 08:47 PM |